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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cue · bat · bowl · bore · cold · saw · mate · court

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. mate — to breed
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. mate — a partner
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. court — of law
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. mate — a friend
  14. cue — a signal
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bore — to drill
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bore — to tire
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com